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Dear Jim:
Got your email of 15 February. I wish you had come in personally, but, since you indicated that you don’t want Pam involved in these decisions, I will not call you and will only contact you via your work email address. Frankly (speaking as your friend and not your attorney), I wish you would come in with Pam so we could discuss the financial and legal ramifications of your decision. However, you are my client, so I will do as you desire, even though it makes me uncomfortable.
Per your instructions I reviewed what it will take for you to get out of your partnership with Athlead. Based on the partnership agreement you signed, you have two options right now: First, you can get one or more of your partners to buy out your share of the business. Since there has been no capital appreciation of Athlead to this point, they could simply pay you what you put in ($10,000) and you would just walk away from the business. However, this would be financially damaging to you and your family, since you would then sacrifice all of the deferred income you would have received since you started working for Athlead back in the fall. By my calculations, this would come to over $18,000. You could also not expect to get any compensation for your travel and lodging costs to and from Scranton, probably another $3000 (depending on whether we can get you out of you sub-let apartment).
Your second option (if your partners don’t want to buy you out) would be to dissolve the partnership and close the business. This is a very draconian solution, but, if your partners won’t buy you out, that would be what would be necessary. Your partners could then re-form the company after dissolution. This would be equally, if not more expensive than the first option.
Let me know if this is what you needed.
Sincerely,
Dan Ehrlich
Attorney-at Law
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16 February, 2013
I received your email of today, asking that I contact your partners to arrange an immediate buy-out of your share of Athlead at “whatever cost”. Frankly, I was hoping you would see that it would be best to work something else out at this point. Cannot you continue to work part-time at Athlead and part-time at your current job until you and Pam have had time to think this through? Haste is not your friend under these circumstances. I also have to point out that even a quick examination of Athlead’s books show that there is a strong possibility of the company being a real success within a few months. If you sell now, you would miss out on a chance for something special here, something that would help insure your family’s financial future.
Any chance we can sit down (with Pam) and go through what this might mean for both of you?
Sincerely,
Dan Ehrlich
Attorney-at Law
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18 February, 2013
Dear Jim:
I just read your email of this morning. I am sorry you think that you should look elsewhere for legal advice. I am also sorry if you think I have overstepped my role as your attorney. Having known both you and Pam for several years now, I think of you as friends as much as clients. However, your instructions make it clear that you have decided “it is my marriage and my family or my business and I choose my family”. Given that kind of stark choice, I have drawn up the papers to get your partnership share bought out and will get back to you as soon as I get a response from your partners.
Sincerely,
Dan Ehrlich
Attorney-at Law
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25 February, 2013
Dear Jim:
I have met with the attorney for your partners and we have drawn up a basic “buy-sell” agreement so that your share of the business will be split equally among the remaining partners. Although they don’t seem at all happy about losing you (as I am sure you know), we were able to reach an agreement and I have the papers here for you to sign. You will get your $10,000 back, but nothing else (no salary, travel costs, or share in future profits).
I did negotiate one additional clause in the agreement that you did not request, and that was a “cooling off” period that extends from now until the middle of May. If, at that point, you decide not to execute the buy-out, your partners will accept you back in. I guess you must have really impressed them, not that I am surprised. Sorry if that additional clause bothers you, but it is in your self-interest. If including that means you wish to drop me as your lawyer, that is your decision, but it also my responsibility to do what is best for my clients.
Let me know when you want to stop by and sign.
Sincerely,
Dan Ehrlich
Attorney-at Law
Story Notes:
My view of Jim is that he would readily sacrifice his own career ambitions at Athlead in order to make Pam happy. Since I don't do dialogue well, I thought this would give some insight to what that decision would mean and what his inability to deal with confrontation would cost him.
Spoilers through "Moving On"
Spoilers through "Moving On"
Chapter End Notes:
Like everyone else, I am waiting to see what direction they take this, but this seems most in keeping with the Jim we have seen in the past.
